Reading Time: 6 minutes I have to confess I just learned about electrum when this topic crawled up on my radar. We love the wide range of jewelry metals today that give consumers tremendous options for creating the exact piece of their dreams. Metal alloys are some of the more exciting variations for imaginative jewelry designers to work with. These options better reflect the tastes of a client and help them to personalize their jewelry, making it truly unique to them. Brooch with a griffin, from the necropolis of Kameiros, Rhodes, c. 625–600 BC (Louvre). Natural Alloy One topic catching my eye at the moment is a rare and naturally occurring metal alloy – electrum. This word, electrum may be uncommon to modern society, but it’s a Latin word derived from the Greek electron mentioned in the Odyssey referring to a metallic substance consisting of gold alloyed with silver. Electrum was usually called white gold in antiquity. But more accurately it was described as pale gold since ...
